Paint rollers for applying paint onto surfaces are known. Typically, such paint rollers have paint-absorbing surfaces that are dipped into paint containers and then rolled over surfaces that are to be painted. Another type of paint rollers has a permeable surface through which paint, stored inside such paint rollers, can flow through for application onto surfaces that are to be painted.
Generally, existing paint rollers works well for a flat surface on which only a single paint shade or color is to be applied. However, a problem arises when such paint rollers are used to apply paint at surface corners formed, for example, by two walls or between a wall and a ceiling. This is a problem because paint desired on one surface may be undesirably applied onto an adjacent surface.
Prior art paint rollers that alleviate the above problem include U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,740, issued to Burns et al., in which an apparatus provides a guard shield that acts as a barrier to paint being applied onto an adjacent surface. Such prior art paint rollers provide shield-like barriers or guards that are detachably mounted to the paint rollers. However, use of the shield-like barriers or guards causes other problems. For example, a guard may be required to contact an adjacent surface for alignment purposes as well and this is a problem when an adjacent surface has wet paint or is delicate. Consequently, the adjacent surface can be damaged by abrasion with the guard. Furthermore, shield-like barriers or guards are accessories that typically require assembling or attaching, which adds complexity to prior art paint rollers.
Therefore, a need clearly exists for a novel paint roller for selectively applying paint at surface corners and that does not need separate accessories such as a barrier or a guard to be assembled or attached.